Author: chicagoinquirer

by Andrew Seligman CHICAGO  — Matthew Stafford and Sean McVay shot knowing glances at each other, then went to work on the drive that got the Los Angeles Rams one step away from the Super Bowl. Stafford and the Rams survived an incredible throw by Caleb Williams that forced overtime, beating the Chicago Bears 20-17 on Sunday night to advance to the NFC championship game. Harrison Mevis kicked a 42-yard field goal in OT after Kam Curl intercepted a deep pass by Williams on the Bears’ first possession of the extra period. Stafford glanced at his coach prior to the…

by Jack Brook and Sarah Raza MINNEAPOLIS — The mayor of Minneapolis said Sunday that sending active duty soldiers into Minnesota to help with an immigration crackdown is a ridiculous and unconstitutional idea as he urged protesters to remain peaceful so the president won’t see a need to send in the U.S. military. Daily protests have been ongoing throughout January since the Department of Homeland Security ramped up immigration enforcement in the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul by bringing in more than 2,000 federal officers. Three hotels where protesters have said Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers were staying…

by Jay Cohen CHICAGO — Caleb Williams’ last throw in regulation was a backpedaling, fourth-down rainbow that landed in Cole Kmet’s hands in the corner of the end zone for a breathtaking touchdown. His last throw of the game was the beginning of the end for Chicago’s surprising season. Williams almost rallied the Bears to another memorable win on Sunday night. But he threw his third interception in overtime and Matthew Stafford drove the Los Angeles Rams to Harrison Mevis’ winning field goal in a 20-17 victory in the divisional round of the playoffs. “It’s tough. In these moments, you…

by Andrew Seligman LAKE FOREST, Ill. — Down by 11 and facing a fourth-and-8 in their own territory late in last week’s wild-card game, the Chicago Bears needed a big play from Caleb Williams. He had a Michael Jordan moment. Williams’ spectacular throw to Rome Odunze kept a touchdown drive going and helped the Bears rally to beat the Green Bay Packers 31-27 after trailing by 18 on Saturday night. Now, after winning a playoff game for the first time in 15 years, Chicago faces another big challenge. The Bears host Matthew Stafford and the Los Angeles Rams in the…

CHICAGO (AP) — Nikola Vucevic made a tiebreaking layup with 4 seconds remaining, and the Chicago Bulls overcame Brice Sensabaugh’s career-high 43 points to beat the Utah Jazz 128-126 on Wednesday night. Vucevic scored 35 points to lead the Bulls, who had five reserves finish in double figures. Isaac Okoro was the only other starter in double figures with 12 points for a Bulls team playing without Josh Giddey because of strained left hamstring. Sensabaugh scored 21 in the first quarter, the most by a player off the bench in the period since play-by-play tracking for all four quarters began…

by Steve Karnowski, Alanna Durkin Richer and Hallie Golden MINNEAPOLIS — A federal officer shot a man in the leg in Minneapolis after being attacked with a shovel and broom handle, further heightening the sense of fear and anger radiating across the city a week after an immigration agent fatally shot a woman in the head. Smoke filled the street Wednesday night near the site of the latest shooting as federal officers wearing gas masks and helmets fired tear gas into a small crowd while protesters threw rocks and shot fireworks. Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara said during a news…

by Bridget Brown and by Michael Warren CHICAGO, ILPresident Donald Trump said Wednesday that anything less than U.S. control of Greenland is “unacceptable,” hours before Vice President JD Vance was to host Danish and Greenlandic officials for talks. In a post on his social media site, Trump reiterated his argument that the U.S. “needs Greenland for the purpose of National Security.” He added that “NATO should be leading the way for us to get it” and that otherwise, Russia or China would. “NATO becomes far more formidable and effective with Greenland in the hands of the UNITED STATES,” Trump wrote.…

by John Gambrell and Julia Nikhinson DUBAI, United Arab Emirates  — U.S. President Donald Trump said Sunday that Iran proposed negotiations after his threat to strike the Islamic Republic over its bloody crackdown targeting demonstrators there, a move coming as activists said the death toll in protests rose to at least 544. Trump and his national security team have been weighing a range of potential responses against Iran including cyberattacks and direct strikes by the U.S. or Israel, according to two people familiar with internal White House discussions who were not authorized to comment publicly and spoke on condition of…

by Rebecca Santana MINNEAPOLIS  — Thousands of people marched in Minneapolis on Saturday to protest the fatal shooting of a woman by a federal immigration officer there and the shooting of two people in Portland, Oregon. Minnesota leaders urged demonstrators to remain peaceful. The protest was one of hundreds planned for towns and cities across the country over the weekend. It came in a city on edge since the killing of Renee Good on Wednesday by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer. “We’re all living in fear right now,” said Meghan Moore, a mother of two from Minneapolis who joined…

by Jay Cohen CHICAGO  — At the very end of his seventh season as Green Bay’s coach, Matt LaFleur saw a team that lacked composure at big moments in a playoff game. It was an all-too-familiar scene for the Packers — one that will follow LaFleur for a long time. “We’ve got to look at it. We’ve got to talk. There’s a lot of pieces,” he said. “All you’re trying to do in the moment is, when mistakes are made, you’re correcting them. There’s not long discussions on the sideline. It’s just you correct the mistakes and you try to…